Iginla misses start of camp with groin injury

By LAURENCE HEINEN The Canadian PressPublished January 14, 2013 - 12:49am

CALGARY — When the Calgary Flames finally got in their first practice of the season at the Scotiabank Saddledome, their captain was nowhere to be seen on the ice.

Instead Jarome Iginla watched from the owners’ box, while the rest of his teammates took in their long-awaited first skate.

The Flames say a groin injury kept Iginla off the ice, but add the move is precautionary.

“We told Jarome that we didn’t want him to skate today,” said Flames general manager Jay Feaster. “We said that we won’t get any points this week, but next Sunday we’d like to pick up two.

“It’s nothing that we’re concerned about. It’s just that we don’t want to push right now when we don’t think there’s a reason to do that.”

With the Flames set to start the National Hockey League with back-to-back home games against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday and the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, coach Bob Hartley said he didn’t want to take any chances by having Iginla re-aggravate the injury.

“He wanted to go because he’s the captain,” said Hartley, who told Iginla that he didn’t want him to start training camp until he felt 100 per cent. “He reacted very professionally. If it had been any other player, we would have done exactly the same thing. We’re going to do what’s best for them because what’s best for them is best for the organization.”

Hartley said he expects Iginla to be cleared to get back on the ice with his teammates shortly.

“He’s very close,” Hartley said. “If we would be playing tonight, most likely he would be in the lineup.”

Iginla said he understands why he’s being kept out until he can handle full-contact practices.

“I’m just trying to be ready because, if you saw practice today, it was pretty intense,” Iginla said. “It’s a slight pull. I want to be ready as soon as I can be. It’s hard to watch.”

Forward Alex Tanguay said he fully expects Iginla to be back ready to play in time for Sunday’s home opener at the Saddledome.

“When you have nagging injuries, you certainly don’t want to make it worse,” Tanguay said. “Going through a skate like this, you better be ready.

“Jarome’s a guy that’s always been in tremendous shape so we’re not really worried.”